Napping: Do's and don'ts for healthy adults

If you're sleep deprived or just looking for a way to relax, you might be thinking about taking a nap. Napping at the wrong time of day or napping for too long can backfire though. Understand how to get the most out of a nap.

What are the benefits of napping?

Napping offers various benefits for healthy adults, including:

  • Relaxation.
  • Less tiredness.
  • More alertness.
  • Better mood.
  • Improved performance, including quicker reaction time and better memory.

What are the drawbacks to napping?

Napping isn't for everyone. Some people have trouble sleeping during the day. Or they have a hard time napping in places other than their own beds.

Napping can also lead to issues such as:

  • Feeling groggy right after waking up. This is known as sleep inertia. That groggy feeling could make it harder to work and feel alert right after a nap. But it often goes away within about 35 minutes.
  • Trouble sleeping at night. For most people, short naps don't tend to affect sleep quality overnight. But if you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep at night, napping might make these problems worse. Long or frequent naps might interfere with nighttime sleep.

Some research also links naps longer than an hour a day with higher risks of conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease.

When should I think about taking a nap?

Think about making time for a short nap if you:

  • Start to feel tired or sleepy during the day.
  • Are about to lose some sleep — for example, due to a long work shift.
  • Want to make planned naps part of your daily routine.

Could a sudden greater need for naps signal a health condition?

Talk with your healthcare professional if you feel the need to nap more than usual. It's extra important to have this talk if you feel sleepy or tired after you wake up in the morning. You might be getting poor sleep at night due to a certain medicine, sleep disorder or another health condition.

What's the best way to take a nap?

To get the most out of a nap, try these tips:

  • Keep naps short. A 20- to 30-minute nap is ideal. Try not to snooze more than 30 minutes on a regular basis. The longer you nap, the more likely you are to feel groggy afterward.
  • Take naps in the early afternoon. Napping after 3 pm can make it harder for you to sleep soundly at night. Factors such as your need for sleep, sleeping schedule, age and medication use can also play roles in figuring out the best time of day to nap.
  • Create a relaxing space. Nap in a quiet, dark place with a comfortable room temperature. Limit distractions such as TVs, computers, phones and other devices.

After you nap, give yourself time to wake up before you get back to your activities. This is key if you need to do a task that requires a quick or sharp response.

From Mayo Clinic to your inbox

Sign up for free and stay up to date on research advancements, health tips, current health topics, and expertise on managing health. Click here for an email preview.

To provide you with the most relevant and helpful information, and understand which information is beneficial, we may combine your email and website usage information with other information we have about you. If you are a Mayo Clinic patient, this could include protected health information. If we combine this information with your protected health information, we will treat all of that information as protected health information and will only use or disclose that information as set forth in our notice of privacy practices. You may opt-out of email communications at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link in the e-mail.

,

Source link